Sailing Troubled Waters
by Blue Sky Dreamer
Summary: Sequel to Just Another Summer Day. High school can change friendships but life long friends Lucas, Nathan, Peyton, Haley, Brooke, and Jake are determined to remain friends. However their very first day changes them in unexpected ways.
1. First Day of School

**Chapter 1: First Day of School **

**Note: OK this is the sequel to my story Just Another Summer Day. I decided to do one where they are teenagers since that seemed to be a popular idea. Please write with any ideas, thoughts, or whatever in your review. I would really appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill but I own Adam.**

14 year old Peyton Sawyer sat on her bed flipping through her photo album.

On the very first page there was a picture of her best friends Haley James, Nathan Scott, his half brother Lucas Scott, and Brooke Davis when they were about a year old.

She flipped the page and saw a picture of them at around 3, making silly faces at the camera, ice cream smeared on their faces and in their hair.

Peyton grinned slightly at the picture of Jake at 5 smiling shyly at the camera.

She turned the page and saw a picture of her and Haley cheesing to show their missing teeth.

She flipped over a page and sighed nostalgically at a picture of her sleeping in her mother's arms. Her mother had passed away when she was ten years old.

Peyton quickly turned the page before she felt the familiar tears welling up.

She smiled at the picture of all of them sleeping on the grass. She shook her head slightly at the fact that Haley was holding hands with Nathan.

She remembered that summer day better than anything. That was when her life was uncomplicated and perfect.

She looked at the next page and saw an 8 year old Haley and Nathan, once again holding hands.

She rolled her eyes at the picture. Ever since a summer day when they were 8, Haley and Nathan had become one of those sickeningly sweet child couples.

Forever holding hands and all of that had made them highly suspect for the group's teasing.

She flipped the page and saw Jake, Lucas, and Nathan totally engrossed in some basketball game.

Below that picture was one of her, Brooke, and Haley posing in their very first cheerleading uniform.

Before she could turn the page, her father entered the room.

She closed the album and faced her dad.

"Hey Dad! You're home!" Peyton said excitedly.

Ever since her mom died her father had began taking long trips for his job. The average trip lasted about three weeks.

"Yeah, I couldn't miss my baby girl's first day of high school." Larry Sawyer told her.

"Sorry Dad but me, Brooke, and Haley are getting a ride from Adam."

"What about Lucas, Jake, and Nathan?" Larry asked.

"They're already there. There was some basketball thing." Peyton explained.

Outside they heard a horn honk.

"That's my ride!" Peyton said.

She grabbed her blue backpack and dashed to the door. She stopped by the mirror and took one last look in the mirror.

"Bye Dad!" Peyton said before hugging him tightly.

"You'll be here when I come home…right?" Peyton asked hesitantly.

Larry sighed and held his daughter.

"I'll be here. Don't worry, I'll be here." Larry told her.

The horn honked and Peyton dashed out the door.

"I'm coming Adam!" Peyton yelled to her cousin.

"Yeah, now you are!" Adam yelled back.

Peyton opened the door and focused on her cousin.

Adam Jacobs, her 16 year old cousin, was blasting "Numb" by Linkin Park.

His curly blond hair was wet once again. Adam always kept his hair slightly damp to try to smooth out his stubborn curly hair.

His ocean blue eyes were focused on the road until he noticed Peyton looking at him.

"What Peyt?" Adam asked.

"Nothing. Just trying to decide what my newest drawing's gonna be. You, my lucky cousin, may be my next subject!"

Adam shook his head and asked "So we're picking up Haley and then Brooke?"

"That's the plan." Peyton told him.

The cousins got totally engrossed on the song until they reached Haley's house.

Adam honked the horn loudly and Haley came barreling out.

She opened the back door and slid into the seat.

"Hey Peyton! Hey Adam!" Haley said.

Peyton reached over and turned down the volume.

"Peyton, you can't just turn down the music in my car!" Adam protested.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Peyton said dismissively.

"What's up with you Ms. James?" Peyton turned around to ask.

"I can't believe we're in high school now!" Haley said excitedly.

"Trust me, high school isn't all that great." Adam told her, laughing.

"It will be for us." Haley said confidently, sounding like Nathan.

Peyton laughed and told her "You spend waaaaay to much time with Nathan."

Haley rolled her eyes at her friend.

Haley commented "As much as all of you say something, I'm beginning to think you're jealous."

Peyton burst out laughing at the very thought of being jealous of Haley and Nathan.

"Jealous Hales? Hell no! I really don't think so." Peyton finally said.

Adam stopped the car at Brooke's house and once again honked the horn.

"Adam, you are so rude!" Haley said.

"I know, but it's all good." Adam joked.

"All good with who?" Peyton asked.

Adam honked the horn again and Peyton and Haley rolled their eyes.

Brooke finally walked out, smooth and confident.

When she reached the car she walked around and opened the other back door.

She sat down and said in her almost raspy voice "Hey P. Sawyer, Tutor Girl, Blondie."

"Dude, don't call me Blondie!" Adam said for the millionth time.

"Sure….Blondie." Brooke said.

"Just give it up Adam. She's gonna keep callin' you Blondie." Peyton told her cousin.

Adam groaned and concentrated on getting to Tree Hill High on time.

"Let's switch schedules." Haley suggested.

Peyton handed her's to Haley, who handed her's to Brooke, and she gave her's to Peyton.

They studied each other's schedules and said the classes they shared out loud.

They switched schedules again and repeated the process.

"Great, there are only a couple classes where we don't share a class and we haven't even seen the guy's schedules yet!" Haley said, visibly relieved.

"We're here." Adam said, parking his car.

They all got out the car and immediately some girl came running over to Adam.

"Hey Jenna!" Adam said.

He put her arm around her shoulders and turned to his cousin and her friends.

"See ya later." Adam said before walking away.

"I guess we're on our own now." Peyton said.

The three of them stood there staring at the school.

They linked arms and started walking to the school.

"Ready?" Brooke asked.

"Ready." Haley and Peyton said.

And with that Haley, Brooke, and Peyton stepped into the school, ready to start a new chapter in their lives.

**Next chapter, Nathan, Lucas, and Jake will appear. What do you guys think of Adam? He's going to be in the story quite a bit. Anyway please review and tell me what you think and what you would like to see happen. Thanks!**


	2. First Class Mistakes

**Chapter 2: First Class Mistakes **

**Note: Thanks to Naley is L.O.V.E., xxbabii, naturalnin, thedreamygirl, brucasfanatic, HalesnLukeBFF4ever, Doveangel1213, and Cadi Cay, for reviewing! I don't know why but I had so much trouble with this chapter. I finally found a way to put it but I'm not completely happy with it and I know its not my best. Anyway please review! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill sadly…..BUT I do own any unfamiliar characters!**

Once inside the building Haley, Brooke, and Peyton concentrated on finding their first class. Finding Nathan, Jake, and Lucas would be a bonus.

"Well its room 419. That's the 2nd floor right?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah…I think." Haley replied.

"Damn, we should have asked Adam." Peyton muttered.

The trio made their way through the crowd to the second floor.

"413….415….417….What the hell? Where's 419?" Brooke asked, frustrated.

Just then the first bell rang.

"5 minutes and we're late to our first class. Great way to start of the new school year." Haley said sarcastically.

"Oh, wait! I think that's it!" Haley said as they rounded the corner.

The trio walked to where Haley pointed and with relief, saw it was 419.

They rushed to the door and just before they reached the door, stopped and composed themselves.

They calmly walked through the door just before the bell rang.

"You're late." The teacher said, almost annoyed

"Excuse me sir, but we got in here right before the bell rang." Haley said politely.

"It's Mr. Reed. And as I said, you're late. Your names are?"

"Brooke Davis." Brooke told him when he pointed to her.

Wordlessly, he pointed to a seat on the front row.

Brooke rolled her eyes before taking the seat.

"Peyton Sawyer." Peyton said, bored, when he pointed to her.

"That seat by my desk." Peyton scowled at the fact that she would be stuck next to the teacher's desk.

"Haley James." Haley stated.

Mr. Reed looked at his chart and pointed to a desk near the back.

The short girl frowned but made her way to the back.

"Now that everybody is seated we will begin. This is 9th grade history. Here is the syllabus. If you look…" Mr. Reed droned on.

Peyton slumped in her seat, immediately bored.

Brooke glanced over at Peyton and then Haley before sighing and writing a note.

Brooke discreetly passed the note to a girl who threw it to Peyton.

Peyton opened the note and it read:

_**This is sooooo boring! I hope the guys have better classes than this. **_

Peyton responded

**Yeah, I wonder what classes they have now…. **

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Lucas Scott slouched in his seat, angry at the scheduling department for screwing up his schedule and placing him in Fashion Design.

Lucas hadn't gotten his schedule until that morning so he hadn't realized that he had Fashion Design.

His only consolation was that he wasn't the only guy in there. Three other boys were in the class, looking as mad as him.

The teacher hadn't entered the classroom yet. He continued to slouch as he pulled out his iPod and began listening to music.

After about 2 songs, the door began to open slowly and he shut the iPod off.

A young woman, around 26 or 27, walked in carrying a box.

She had long curly brown hair and expressive sky blue eyes. Overall, she was quite pretty with delicate features.

As she placed the box down Lucas thought to himself '_She looks very familiar.' _

"Hello class!" she said, smiling at them.

Lucas sat up at the sound of her voice.

"My name is" The teacher began.

"Nora?" Lucas asked incredulously, interrupting her.

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Jake Jagelski concentrated on warming up his voice quietly while he waited to be called in Chorus.

"Jacob Jagelski?" the teacher called.

Jake walked up to the piano, self consciously smoothing his curly black hair.

"Ready?" Ms. Collins asked him.

"Yes." Jake answered.

As she played the scale Jake sang the notes.

Everyone got quiet to hear him sing.

"Again." Ms. Collins told him.

Jake sang the scale again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, he has the gift!" Ms. Collins declared.

Jake blushed slightly at the comment.

"Thank you ma'am." Jake said.

He grinned as everyone clapped.

'_This year is off to a great start.' _Jake thought happily.

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Nathan Scott grinned as he made his seventh shot.

He glanced over to his teammate, Adam, Peyton's older cousin.

Overall, Nathan liked Adam and thought he was a pretty cool guy.

It didn't hurt that Adam could drive and that he was on the basketball team too.

The pair had challenged two other guys in their Gym class to a half court basketball game.

"Nice work Scott." Coach 'Whitey' Durham said gruffly as he passed by.

'_This year is gonna be great. For all of us' _Nathan thought optimistically.

**Next chapter all the friends will get together. I promise! Anyway, I'll go get started on the next chapter while watching American Idol. The auditions are HILARIOUS! Until next chapter! **


	3. Lunchtime Discussions

**Chapter 3: Lunchtime Discussions**

**AN: Sorry for the long wait! A lot's been going on and not all of it good. Anyway, here's the next chapter. **

Lucas and Peyton got to lunch first and claimed a table. The pair sat down talking about a concert they wanted to go to. Haley came over in a burst of energy as usual and began talking animatedly about the concert with them. Brooke entered the cafeteria surrounded by a group of girls. She waved and walked over to the table smiling. Nathan and Jake walked in talking earnestly about something. As they got closer, they group realized they were discussing basketball plays.

Peyton, Brooke, and Haley rolled their eyes and Lucas's eyes lit up and he leaned forward and eagerly joined the conversation.

"Obviously, some things never change." Peyton muttered.

The girls got up and went in line for lunch. The boys followed, not really paying attention to anything but their conversation. After getting their lunches, they went back to their table.

After 5 more minutes of basketball plays and discussions, Peyton said "God, someone, please shut them up!"

Brooke laughed and said "Good luck, it would take a miracle for them to stop talking about basketball."

Haley raised her eyebrows and said "Oh yeah?" She grinned mischievously, her brown eyes bright. From her seat next to Nathan, Haley said "Nathan?"

Nathan gave her a fraction of his attention and said "Yeah?"

Haley kissed him firmly and said "Shut up."

Nathan said in a daze, "Sure."

Haley smirked at Peyton and Brooke who burst out laughing. Lucas and Jake snickered loudly causing Nathan to snap out of it.

Nate scowled at them and quickly Haley asked everyone "So what was your first class like?"

Lucas stopped snickering at Nathan and sat up straight and said "Oh yeah! You guys will never guess what happened! I was in Fashion Design and-"

Nathan cut him off and scoffed.

"Dude, _you_ have Fashion Design?" Nate laughed.

Lucas leveled his brother with a stare and said "Don't even start."

Nathan stuffed his mouth and glared at Lucas while Haley, Peyton, and Brooke looked amazed at the fact Nathan could fit about half a steak and cheese in his mouth.

"Anyway the teacher walked in and she looked very familiar. When she spoke I knew it. My teacher's Nora!"

Everyone looked momentarily confused and then Nate choked on the huge bite he took. Jake whacked him on the back and little food chunks flew out of his mouth, hitting the table in front of Brooke and Peyton.

Looking disgusted, Peyton pushed her sprayed tray of food forward and said "Well I'm done."

Ignoring the looks that Peyton and Brooke were giving him he hoarsely managed "Nora as in the ice cream lady Jake had a crush on?"

"I did not!" Jake denied.

"You did." Brooke confirmed.

"She moved away when we were about 10, right?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. That's also when I found out I was allergic to milk." Nate said.

"I will never understand how you're allergic to milk and not cheese." Peyton told him, shaking her head.

"I know! That's so weird!" Haley exclaimed.

"Yes, we have all established that I'm weird." Nathan said dramatically.

"Anyway, she's the teacher. I have to call her Mrs. Anderson now though." Lucas continued, an odd look on his face.

"Oh, she's married now!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Thanks for stating the obvious Brooke." Jake teased.

"Anyway, me, Haley, and Brooke have first period together. Mr. Reed." Peyton said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, that man is sooooo boring! And I sit in the very back!" Haley said.

"Stop complaining. I sit right next to his desk! And he spit on me! I complained and he threatened me with detention." Peyton told them looking disgusted.

"At least you don't sit in the very front next to some dork who has a crush on you!" Brooke said.

"He does?" Haley asked, laughing.

"The one with all that hair and huge glasses?" Peyton asked trying to conceal her amusement.

"Yeah, his name's Sherwin." Brooke said sounding disgusted.

Nathan, Lucas, and Jake all burst out laughing and Peyton stopped trying not to laugh as her face turned crimson.

"What kind of name is Sherwin?" Nate choked out.

"Isn't that a paint brand or something?" Jake managed to say.

"I don't really care. He asked me if I wanted to make out with him in the AV room." Brooke said turning a light shade of green.

Everyone except Brooke broke into hysterics causing Brooke to exclaim "It's not funny!"

The others only laughed harder. Brooke threw a French fry at Haley and groaned as she placed her head on the table.

The vice principal, Mr. Bacchus, came over and informed them "If you don't calm down, all of you are going to get lunch duty."

Brooke smiled at them gleefully, a superior look on her pretty face.

"Don't say a word or I'll get Sherwin on you." Nathan snorted.

"Don't say a word or I'll get Haley on you." Brooke retorted.

Nathan scowled at her amidst their friends' laughter.

"Gotcha there Nate." Lucas said grinning.

Nathan made a very rude reply that caused Haley to exclaim "Nathan!"

Mr. Bacchus started to dismiss people from the front and Brooke said happily, "Great, I have Fashion Design next."

"I have English." Peyton said, sounding bored at the thought.

"Me too. Who's your teacher?" Lucas asked.

"Umm…. Ms. Davenport." Peyton replied.

"We've got the same class." Lucas confirmed.

"Whoopee, I have Algebra next." Nathan said with no enthusiasm.

"I have gym. I'll talk to Whitey about those plays." Jake said.

"Make sure you tell him-" Nathan started.

"I've got Spanish." Haley said, cutting Nathan off smoothly before another basketball discussion started.

Mr. Bacchus dismissed them next and Brooke and Jake walked off together, waving good bye.

Brooke laughed at something Jake said and by the way they both looked back at Nathan, it was something about him.

"You are so whipped man." Jake called back and Lucas and Peyton laughed too.

Haley took Nathan's hand and they walked out, virtually ignoring the others.

"Bye to you too." Lucas said.

"Those two are hilarious." Peyton laughed.

Lucas shook his head and said in a perfect British accent "Shall I escort you to class m'lady?"

Peyton laughed and said "You shall."

The two friends linked arms and walked like that to English.

**To anyone whose name is Sherwin….I apologize! My friend picked it and I was like whatever. Right now the only couple together is Naley. I probably won't have Brooke and Jake. I'm not a big fan of that. I will probably have a Peyton/Lucas/Brooke triangle. Until my next update!**


	4. Explosive English

**Chapter 4: Explosive English **

Peyton and Lucas walked into their classroom and saw their new teacher. She was dark-skinned, slim, and pretty. Ms. Davenport smiled at them and greeted them warmly. Peyton however did not notice as she was focused on one thing in the room.

"David." She whispered. David's eyes bore into hers and he gave her an evil smile.

David "Goliath" Young used to be this annoying short, scrawny kid. He had a huge crush on Peyton and used to follow her everywhere. Finally Peyton blew up at him and yelled at him in front of everybody.

That was eighth grade and after that he underwent a huge transformation. He hit the gym and bulked up and grew much taller. Along with all of that he gained an extreme hatred for Peyton.

"Lucas, take the seat behind Hannah and Peyton, your seat is in front of David." Ms. Davenport stated.

They both sat down in their seats and almost immediately David started.

"Hey, how'd you get in this class Little Orphan Annie? Isn't this for smart people?" David whispered.

"Then what are you doing in here?" Peyton retorted.

"Touché Annie." David smirked.

"I'm not an orphan! Stop calling me that!" Peyton told him.

"Might as well be. I mean your mom's dead and your dad can't stand you." David said conversationally.

Peyton flushed red, her voice shaking with anger as she said "My dad loves me."

"Hell of a way to show it. He's gone most of the time right? For his job. That's just an excuse and you know it. What kind of father leaves his teenage daughter all alone?" David scoffed.

Peyton turned and slapped him in the face. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched.

"You evil bastard. Go to hell." Peyton said calmly as everyone stared.

With that she collected her things and ran out the classroom.

Lucas followed, ignoring Ms. Davenport telling them to come back..

The hallway was strangely empty so it was easy to spot Peyton. She was sitting in the hallway, leaning against a wall.

Lucas went and sat next to her and they were both quiet for a couple minutes.

"Well you certainly caused a scene back there, huh?" Lucas commented.

"You didn't hear what he said, did you?" Peyton asked.

"Not really." Lucas admitted.

"Oh it was just the usual. Him making fun of my dead mother, how my father doesn't love me but the Little Orphan Annie nickname is a new one." Peyton told him in that same unnaturally calm voice.

"Peyton don't let him bother you. You know your dad loves you." Lucas said gently.

"You know, the sad part is that I actually see his point. Dad never used to travel like this before. Why now?" Peyton said, her voice and face finally showing emotion.

Lucas looked like he was struggling with what to say but Peyton had no such problem.

"He's gone for weeks at a time, he missed every major holiday last year including my birthday, and even when he is home it's like he's trying to buy me off with gifts." Peyton continued, her eyes filling with tears.

"Peyt, you know it's just his job. If he could he'd be home with you." Lucas told her.

"He could get another job and you know it." Peyton scoffed.

Tears started to spill over and she wiped them away, frustrated. Lucas took her hand and she started to really cry.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Peyton asked.

Before Lucas could answer she interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Peyton said, embarrassed.

"For what?" Lucas asked.

"For acting like this and shoving all my problems off on you in a hallway after you walked out of class to follow me." Peyton rambled.

Lucas wiped the tears from her face and gently lifted her face from her knees and said "Don't ever feel embarrassed about crying in front of me."

Lucas stared at her full in the face, taken aback by how beautiful she had become. Part of him still saw her as the tomboyish little girl with frizzy curls and missing teeth.

His hand traveled and stroked her cheek. He looked directly into her hazel green eyes overflowing with tears that traveled down her pale skin.

Almost as if in a trance, he leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back, fiercely before breaking away.

Peyton scrambled up and whispered "No…I can't do this. I'm sorry."

Peyton ran down the hallway leaving Lucas bewildered and alone.

**_AN: I am sorry this took awhile but here it is. I still haven't decided on an outcome for the relationships so don't get discouraged. If you have any ideas though, feel free to leave them in a review. I am going to have more time to write and update so the updates will be quicker. The next chapter is gonna focus on Brooke by the way so stay tuned! So um…yeah. Until next time. _**


	5. Having Fun Yet?

**Chapter 5: Having Fun Yet? **

Brooke walked into Fashion Design and saw her friend Laynie but paid her no attention. She immediately went to the teacher's desk where Nora was seated.

"Mrs. Anderson?" Brooke said to get her attention.

Nora looked up, her normal bright smile on her face widening as she recognized one of her new students.

"Only in class. Mrs. Anderson sounds so formal." Nora said, wrinkling her nose.

"Good." Brooke smiled.

The bell rang and a few students straggled in late.

"Time for class. We'll talk later okay?" Nora told her quickly, standing up.

Brooke nodded and sat next to Laynie Ross.

Brooke had met Laynie in the fourth grade and they'd been friends ever since. She was a petite girl with bright blue eyes in a pretty, heart shaped face framed by short black hair.

Laynie leaned toward her and whispered "You know her?"

"Yeah. Long story." Brooke replied.

"Well you will never believe what I just heard." Laynie told her, a devilish look on her face.

Always curious about gossip, Brooke inquisitively asked "What?"

"Amy heard from Natasha, who heard from Megan, who heard from Katie, that Eric broke up with Lily!" Laynie informed her happily, a huge smile on her face.

Eric McCallum was Laynie's latest crush and Brooke had to admit, he was one of Laynie's better choices. He was tall, slim, and athletic with curly brown hair and blue eyes. He had played on the varsity soccer team and the track team at their middle school.

"Really? So what are you going to do now?" Brooke conspiratorially asked her friend.

Laynie tucked her short black hair behind her ear before answering.

"I've been thinking about it a lot actually. There are so many different ways I could handle this, but trust me, he'll be mine."

Nora gave them a look and they both shut up and started paying attention.

Haley sat in her Spanish class, carefully paying attention to her new teacher, Mr. Rodriguez. She could tell by the way most of the girls were looking at him, they had a crush on him.

Mr. Rodriguez was cute, she had to admit. He looked very young, in his early twenties probably. He had tanned skin, longish black hair, and intense dark eyes. He told them he was Mexican and had come to the U.S. at the age of sixteen.

The intense way he looked at people reminded Haley of Nathan and she instinctively smiled. Haley couldn't remember a time when Nathan hadn't been a part of her life. His face was as familiar to her as her brothers and sisters.

She'd known Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, and Jake just as long but Nathan was special. He had been her first kiss when she was eight years old and her first 'boyfriend.' Their parents had thought it was cute up until they were ten or so.

"Ms. James? Please pay attention." Mr. Rodriguez told her in his soft accent.

Haley blushed and nodded. He smiled at her, showing off his dimples. A couple of girls actually sighed.

Mr. Rodriguez was cute and all but no one could hold a candle to Nathan in her mind.

Nathan slouched in his seat, already bored. He silently swore to get his class changed if it was the last thing he did.

His teacher was a short older woman who was very soft spoken and spoke English with a heavy accent. He couldn't even pronounce her name. On his schedule it read 'Jzelhgren'

One guy sitting two seats over was listening to his iPod and another was actually snoring. He checked his cell phone and noted there was exactly twenty-seven minutes left in class.

"Ms. Teacher Lady? I have to go to the bathroom." Nathan called from his seat.

The teacher mumbled something that sounded like an affirmative answer.

Nathan picked up his stuff and walked out of the classroom. He had some time to kill and he decided to go to his locker first.

They had assigned lockers alphabetically so his locker was on the same hallway as Lucas and Peyton's. He had to check the combination which turned out to be 27-42-12.

He put all the stuff in his hands into his locker and shut the door. Nathan checked his cell phone again and there was fifteen minutes left.

He was wandering the hallways aimlessly, trying to kill some time when he ran into his brother.

"Hey Luke, why aren't you in class?" Nathan asked, surprised.

Lucas sighed and said "It's a long story."

"We've got time." Nathan told him.

"Well, you remember David right?" Lucas asked.

"That waste of space? Yeah, I- hold on. Don't tell me he's in your English class. Peyton must have freaked." Nathan sympathized.

"Yeah, she did. He really got to her this time and she slapped him in the face and ran out the class." Lucas started.

"Good for her." Nathan broke in, a smile on his face.

"I went after her and she was in the hallway. Peyt was all upset and started to cry." Lucas went on before stopping abruptly.

"And…" Nathan prompted.

"Well, one thing led to another and I kissed her." Lucas said.

Nathan looked momentarily surprised but then looked thoughtful. "What did she do?"

"At first she kissed me back but then she freaked out and ran."

"You know Peyton. She probably just needs some time to think." Nathan replied.

"The thing is, I don't know why I did it. Now things are going to be all weird between us." Lucas told him, frustrated.

"Good luck with that." Nathan said with a wave before walking away.

Nathan knew they would figure it out. Besides, it wasn't his business.

Jake was glad it was basically a free period. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't leave the gym.

A couple of guys had started a basketball game and of course Jake decided to play. Most of them were just okay, nothing special.

He hit another three pointer, boosting his team's lead to eleven points.

Some girls were watching the game in the bleachers and they clapped loudly.

Jake threw a smile in their direction and went back to the game.

Haley was one of the first people out of her classroom and Nathan was waiting for her. Just for a moment, she allowed herself to admire him.

Over the summer he had really shot up. He was now the tallest of the group at around six feet, give or take a little. His black hair was cut short, which she loved because it made his startling blue eyes stand out even more in his handsome face.

"Having fun yet?" Nathan teased, referring to the fact that she was one of the few people who loved the first day of school.

Haley just smiled and hugged him and he wrapped his arms around her. In that moment, that was all she wanted.

**AN: I know, not my best but I really struggled with this chapter for some reason. It's more of a filler because I already had the next chapter mostly planned out. And I crashed the computer and I'm continuing this sentence almost a month later. My computer has been acting weird since we rebuilt it so I have to use school computers. Much apologies. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow probably. **


	6. Milkshakes Bring Boys To The Yard

**Chapter 6: Milkshakes Bring Boys To The Yard **

Brooke was all smiles as she sailed into Spanish. She chose a seat towards the back and just as she sat down, Peyton walked in. Peyton looked gaunt and unfocused as she slowly entered the room.

"Peyt!" Brooke called, trying to get her attention.

Peyton looked up and gave her a small smile as she walked over to her best friend.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, concerned. As soon as she started to speak, the bell rang.

Peyton barely heard her and Brooke could tell by her questioning expression so she repeated herself.

"Nothing." Peyton said quickly, giving her a feeble smile.

"Peyton." Brooke replied, unconvinced.

Peyton sighed and the whole story spilled out. "And now, I don't know what to do!" Peyton finished with an exasperated sigh.

Brooke listened carefully and at the end had only one comment.

"Why'd you run away?" Brooke demanded, a curious expression on her face.

"I don't know." Peyton answered helplessly.

"No, why?" Brooke insisted.

"I guess it was just…weird. I mean one second, he's Lucas, the guy who's practically like my brother and the next thing I know he's kissing me." Peyton said after a thoughtful pause.

"So. That just means you know him really well and you can trust him." Brooke pointed out sensibly.

Their conversation was interrupted by a large woman with an angry expression on her face.

"Care to join the rest of the class?" The woman they assumed was Mrs. Gomez thundered.

"Sure." Brooke said charmingly causing the class to laugh.

Mrs. Gomez turned red and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the door opening.

A girl walked, no _danced_, into the classroom singing loudly.

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and their like, is better than yours. Damn right, it's better than yours. I can teach you but I have to charge." The girl sang, slightly off-key.

The class roared with laughter and the girl took off her headphones.

Mrs. Gomez was immediately distracted from Peyton and Brooke and promptly threw the girl out her classroom.

"Think about what you're going to do because you know Luke's gonna want to talk about it." Brooke said discreetly, leaning closer to Peyton so she could hear her.

Peyton groaned and put her head down on her desk.

…………………………

The Scott brothers sat in their next class, clearly complete opposites. Lucas was paying attention to the teacher while Nathan was listening to his iPod.

Lucas gave his brother a look of disapproval which Nathan ignored.

"I'm surprised Haley hasn't rubbed off on you." Lucas said with a smirk.

"Shut the hell up." Nathan grumbled.

Lucas simply ignored him and went back to what he was doing.

"So have you talked to Peyt?" Nathan asked after a minute, an identical smirk on his face.

"No I haven't." Lucas said simply, refusing to take the bait.

"I saw her in the hall but I'm not sure she saw me. She was real messed up." Nate continued, half way serious now.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, now giving his brother his full attention.

"She wasn't paying attention to anything around her. It was like she was in her own world and no one else was there. She almost walked into this boy and still didn't seem fazed. I called her but she didn't seem to hear me." Nathan elaborated.

"I shouldn't have done that." Lucas groaned.

"You must be one hell of a kisser." Nathan said with a laugh.

Lucas glared at him and said the same thing Nate sad to him earlier.

"Shut the hell up."

The brothers sat in silence, not speaking to each other for the rest of the period.

……………………………

Haley was pleasantly surprised to see Jake in her class. She hadn't really seen him at all except at lunch.

"Hey Jake." Haley grinned, waving him over.

"Hey Hales." Jake replied, taking the seat next to her.

"What happened to Peyton?" Jake asked.

"Nathan told me but it's a long story. Basically, Lucas kissed Peyton and now their friendship is irreversibly changed." Haley answered.

Jake felt sort of weird about that. It wasn't like he liked Peyton, she was one of is best friends. But if Lucas and Peyton got together, that would be like everyone in their group would be paired off, leaving Brooke and Jake.

It was enough with Haley and Nathan. When they were separated, it was like they were all friends but when Haley and Nathan were together, it was like they were one person and no one else existed. The group affectionately called them Naley when they got like that.

"Where did that come from?" Jake wondered. There had never been any indication Lucas and Peyton felt anything more than friendly affection for one another.

Haley shrugged her shoulders and said "I have no clue. It started with David and ended with them kissing."

Jake looked at her curiously and Haley explained "That's part of the long story."

The bell rang and the two shut up.

**Okay, okay, I apologize for taking so long. I'm really buckling down and working on this story now. I have the next chapter written, I just have to type it up. I swear, it won't take me forever to upload it. Please review because it really makes me work on it. I got a review not too long ago and it made me remember. So yeah, until next time.**

**P.S.: The "Milkshake" thing was because my friend started singing it and it wormed its way until the story. Weird, huh?**


	7. Makes Me Wonder

**Chapter 7: Makes Me Wonder**

The rest of the school day was a blur. The day had been pretty chaotic and it brought a lot of changes. They could tell by what happened after school.

It was a tradition for them to go to Karen's Café after the first day of school. This time was different.

Peyton went straight home because her dad was home for once but they all knew that was just a convenient excuse. She didn't meet anyone's eyes as she said what she had to say before going over to Adam who was honking his horn.

Dan had ordered Nathan to come straight home. Dan insisted that now that he was in high school, scouts would be dropping by at the games so Nate was in training every day.

Haley had to baby-sit her niece and nephew while her sister and brother-in-law went out. Her sister Taylor was going to "help" her she informed them, rolling her eyes as she prepared to leave.

Brooke's parents were on an extended vacation in Italy. They were having new carpet put in and they needed her there to supervise Brooke told them before dashing to try to catch a ride with Peyton and Adam.

Jake's parents had roped him into visiting his great-aunt against his will. He looked extremely disgusted with the whole thing because his great-aunt didn't remember any of them.

That left Lucas who went to his mom's café alone. The place was packed and Karen was understaffed so Lucas had to work.

After he mixed up two orders, his mother reduced him to bussing tables which was mindless work.

'_I wonder what everyone else is doing?'_ Lucas wondered while scrubbing a table.

……………………

Against his better judgment, Nathan took his time getting home. He stopped by the corner store to get a soda and then he went to the music store to see if they had anything new but they didn't.

When he finally did get home his father was already outside warming up.

"I thought I told you to come straight home?" Dan yelled down the driveway when he caught sight of Nate.

"I don't see the big deal." Nathan shrugged off Dan and went inside.

"You don't see the big deal? Nathan, everything we've been working for is finally in sight and now you want to act a fool?" Dan questioned, following Nathan.

"Whatever." Nathan muttered, taking a swig of his soda.

Dan grabbed it and poured it down the sink.

"What was that for?" Nathan protested.

"You're in training. This is like battery acid running through your system. Now go change." Dan commanded.

"I swear, Luke is the lucky one." Nathan mumbled angrily, storming out the kitchen.

"What did you say?" Dan asked dangerously.

"You heard me!" Nathan retorted, whirling around to face his father.

"Does Lucas have everything he wants? Does he live like this? Does he have someone willing to train with him anytime?" Dan hissed.

"Maybe not but he also doesn't have someone on his back all the time. He doesn't have to deal with you living your dreams through him!" Nathan yelled.

"Nathan Scott, I swear if you don't go change right now." Dan told him, his eyes closed in anger.

"Fine." Nathan said, running up the stairs. His door slammed seconds later.

Dan poured himself a glass of Scotch before settling in the armchair, waiting for his son.

………………………..

"Molly! Ethan! Stop it!" Haley scolded.

Her three year old niece and five year old nephew were tearing around the house, screaming and shouting.

Taylor was sitting down, blasting music from her headphones, effectively blocking out the noise.

"Tay, a little help here?" Haley requested as she poked her sister's arm to get her attention.

"Oh sure." Taylor agreed, flashing Haley the smile that made her blood boil. Whenever Taylor wanted something she simply smiled and got her way.

Taylor took off her headphones and looked at the scene before her.

Taylor whistled loudly which immediately got their attention.

"Cool! Teach me, teach me!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Me too!" Molly demanded, a big grin on her face.

"Show off." Haley muttered.

…………………………….

Brooke caught the cousins just in time.

"Hurry up, unlike you, I have places to be." Adam teased.

"Shut up Blondie." Brooke laughed, not taking offense.

"What did I tell you about calling me Blondie?" Adam asked.

"You are blond. Therefore you are Blondie. Duh!" Brooke told him, flicking her silky dark hair out of her face.

"Peyt's blond. Why don't you call her Blondie?" Adam reasoned.

"Because Peyton would kick my ass." Brooke laughed, elbowing her distant best friend.

Peyton let out a forced chuckle but it was hardly needed. Adam's laugh covered hers.

Brooke and Adam playfully bantered the rest of the way to Brooke's house and not for the first time did Peyton wonder about what exactly was going on between her cousin and best friend.

Yes Adam did have a girlfriend and Brooke did like to be single, still… Just as soon as the thought entered her head, she kicked it out. There was nothing between them, they were just extremely flirtatious by nature.

"Bye!" Brooke called as she hopped out the car.

"What, no thanks?" Adam questioned.

"Hmm. Let me think about that….no!" Brooke grinned, her dimples showing and her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, we'll see how you feel the next time you need a ride." Adam grumbled, revving the engine.

"Whatever. Bye Peyt. Call me later okay?" Brooke said.

"Yeah, sure." Peyton agreed.

With that, Adam and Peyton sped off.

**AN: Sorry, I've been sick, sick, sick. Then a string of bad luck…but yeah. Now that it's summer I should have more time to write. The only thing is that I'm currently operating without a mouse. While I've learned all kinds of shortcuts, let's face it: it's easier and quicker with a mouse. **

**Important:**** Dan's relationship with Lucas is sort of difficult to explain. Dan acknowledges Lucas but obviously treats him different from Nathan. Nathan and Lucas get along great with no real tension. **

**P.S. The season finale was awesome. And wasn't James Lucas Scott cute?**


	8. Telephone Anyone?

**Chapter 8: Telephone Anyone?**

"Hello, fashionista Brooke Davis speaking." Brooke's cheerful voice rang out through the phone.

"Hey Brooke." Peyton greeted.

"P. Sawyer! What is up?" Brooke asked.

"Nothing much. My dad's made some sort of casserole that we were too afraid to eat so we're waiting on carry-out."

"It couldn't have been that bad." Brooke reasoned.

"It jiggled." Peyton deadpanned.

Brooke laughed at that one.

"But really, how are you? I know you had a rough day today." Brooke said, her voice growing serious.

"Yeah, well when isn't my life rough? I'll be okay." Peyton sighed.

"Um. Peyt, I'm going to say some things you might not like but I want you to listen, okay?" Brooke hesitated but seemed determined to say what she had to say.

"What?" Peyton asked.

"I think you like Luke." Brooke said in a rush of words.

"What?" Peyton exclaimed.

"Just hear me out!" Brooke replied.

"If you didn't like him, that kiss would have been no big deal. At one point or another in the last year we've all kissed each other." Brooke told her.

"Yeah but-" Peyton interrupted.

"You and Luke have always been really close so you should be able to laugh it off." Brooke continued, ignoring Peyton's protests.

"But it's-" Peyton started.

"It's not different than anything that's happened before. If you like him tell him, if you don't tell him. Whatever you feel, please stop treating him like a plague or something." Brooke finished, exasperated.

They both were quiet for a minute.

"I really hate you." Peyton said affectionately.

"I know." Brooke laughed.

The faint sound of a doorbell was heard.

"I gotta go. The food's here." Peyton told her.

"Ta-ta for now, P. Sawyer." Brooke said with a grin.

"Bye Tigger." Peyton replied before hanging up the phone, suddenly feeling much lighter. Sometimes hearing the truth from your best friend can make things seem a lot better.

…………..

"Hello?" Lucas questioned.

"Hey Luke!" Haley's hyper self seemed multiplied.

"What's going on with you?" Lucas asked cautiously.

As much as he loved Haley, she had a habit of sharing more than enough information. He shuddered thinking of when she had shared her first period with him. A brother-sister relationship only went so far.

"I got accepted as a tutor!" Haley gleefully announced.

"That's great Hales!" Lucas congratulated.

"I know! I'm so excited!" Lucas could practically hear her beaming smile.

"For a second I thought it was something really exciting, like Taylor getting sent to boarding school." Lucas teased.

"Don't I wish." A dreamy yet serious tone entered her voice.

"Come on, Taylor's not that bad." Lucas told her.

"Oh please, you just think she's hot." Haley dismissed his comment.

"No I don't!" Lucas's cheeks flushed red regardless of what he just told her.

"Yeah right." Haley laughed, hearing the stammering quality in his statement.

"Anyway!" Lucas said loudly, trying to get off the subject.

"Anyway, what's going-" Haley was interrupted by a beeping.

"Hold on, someone's on the other line." Haley said before switching over.

"Hello?" Haley said.

"Hey Hales." Nathan's deep voice sounded even better if possible over the phone.

"Wait one second. Luke's on the other line." Haley grinned.

"Hey Luke, I'm really sorry but Nathan's on the other line. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Haley apologized.

"Ouch, that hurts Hales. You're dropping me for my brother?" Lucas asked, feigning disappointment.

"Whatever. I'll see you later." Haley laughed.

"Bye." Lucas said before hanging up.

……..

"Nate?" Haley asked, after she clicked over to the other line.

"Took you long enough." Nathan teased good-naturedly.

"That was barely a minute!" Haley protested, laughing all the same.

"Glad to hear you're in a good mood."

"Yeah, I wasn't earlier. Taylor was being Taylor and Vivian was late so I didn't get home until nearly eight. Then I had to do my homework, wash the dishes, blah, blah, blah. Oh, but then I got a call from the tutor center saying I was accepted!" Haley rambled, picking up steam as she went.

"I still don't see why you want to help a bunch of idiots but more power to you."

"Yeah, wait until you need help."

"Luckily, I'll have my own private tutor."

"Who?" Haley teased.

"Alright Hales. If that's how it's going to be." Nathan laughed.

In the distance, Dan's voice was heard.

"You'd better go." Haley told him.

"I guess." Nathan agreed.

There was a slight pause.

"Well, bye then." Nathan said, awkwardly.

"Bye." Haley sighed, disappointed.

They hung up at the same time.

…………..

"Hey man." Lucas said.

"Hey Luke. How's it going?" Jake asked.

"Pretty good. What're you doing?" Lucas replied.

"Nothing much. I got a weird call earlier though." Jake recalled.

"Define weird."

"Weird as in some random girl calling." Jake told him.

"Did she sound nice?" Lucas asked.

"Let's see. She cackled, said the stars were aligning for my demise, and told me to avoid blue." Jake said seriously.

"Telemarketers get weirder and weirder by the day." Lucas laughed.

"How was visiting dear old Great Aunt Susie?" Lucas grinned.

"How is it visiting your dear Great Uncle George?" Jake retorted.

"I don't have a Great Uncle George." Lucas said in confusion.

"I don't have a Great Aunt Susie either. Apparently after some accident or another, my great aunt got mixed up with someone else. Since they were covered up in bandages no one knew the difference until today." Jake told him.

There was a silence.

"Just kidding!" Jake laughed, imagining Lucas's stunned expression.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Lucas replied, laughing too.

Jake's mother called him and he sighed.

"I gotta go." Jake said.

"Bye Jake." Lucas replied.

"Bye." Jake hung up.

**AN: Seeing as how I work best when I'm supposed to be doing something else, I'm not surprised I wrote this while I'm supposed to be writing an essay. Oh well, another chapter written even though I still have to do that essay. Thank you to the two people that reviewed even though I'm so horrible, I don't deserve it. Who am I kidding, REVIEWS PLEASE. Lol **


	9. I Like It Like That

**Chapter 9: I Like It Like That**

Brooke rolled her eyes when she heard a car honk outside.

"That boy." Brooke thought to herself as she gathered her things. Adam had ever so graciously agreed to give them a ride again this morning.

The horn beeped again and she went and opened the door.

"Alright already! I'm coming!" Brooke yelled.

Adam continued to honk the horn but Brooke could see a grin on his face, letting her know he heard her.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" was the first thing Brooke said as she approached the car.

Adam simply drove down the street causing Brooke and Peyton to shriek "Wait!"

Adam jerked to a stop and reversed to where Brooke was standing.

"You were saying?" Adam smiled sweetly.

"I was saying…" Brooke paused to make sure she was in the car before she finished.

"That you are a jerk." Brooke finished.

"You are just realizing this?" Peyton asked.

"Hey, what happened to defending family?" Adam asked, feigning hurt.

"That only goes so far when your family is a jackass." Peyton said triumphantly, high fiving Brooke.

"Such language Ms. Sawyer. I'd hate for Uncle Larry to find out his daughter's not the little princess he thinks she is."

"Now Mr. Jacobs, I don't think you want to go there with me. I'd hate for Aunt Sara to find out that Jenna spent the night in your room not too long ago." Peyton's eyes were narrowed but she was clearly enjoying seeing her cousin squirm.

"Good point." Adam acknowledged, shutting up.

"Nice one." Brooke mock whispered, making sure Adam could hear her.

"I hope you realize that you two are never getting a ride from me again. By the way, where is your third Musketeer?"

"She and Taylor had to do something before they left so she's getting a ride with Taylor." Peyton answered.

"I'm sure she's thrilled." Brooke remarked.

"Extremely." Peyton agreed.

"Taylor James is hot." Adam commented.

"Excuse me, don't you have a girlfriend?" Peyton laughed.

"That doesn't mean I can't look." Adam reasoned.

"You are such a man-whore!" Brooke exclaimed.

"An honest man-whore." Adam corrected cockily.

"Okay, enough of that." Peyton admonished, turning up the radio.

………………..

Peyton and Brooke were talking and laughing as they walked down the hallways of the school. Near Brooke's locker, Peyton saw Lucas and paused.

"What?" Brooke asked.

"Luke's right there." Peyton told her.

Brooke caught sight of him too.

"Go! I'll be at my locker." Brooke replied, pushing her best friend toward him.

Peyton stopped just short of Lucas, stumbling and her face red.

"Hey." Peyton said softly. She seemed incredibly awkward and almost shy. Lucas held back a laugh. Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer was never shy.

"Hi." Lucas replied.

It was one of the rare times when they were alone together.

"We need to talk." They said at the same time.

"You first." Lucas and Peyton chorused.

"I'll go first." Lucas told her.

"Look, I'm sorry for making things so weird between us. It was just a spur of the moment thing. It didn't mean anything, right?" Lucas apologized.

"Right." Peyton agreed.

"I just want to say I'm sorry for overreacting. I don't know what was wrong with me. It was just a bad day in general and I'm sorry I took it out on you." Peyton also apologized, meeting his eyes.

"I'm used to it. I still have a mark from when you pushed me into a pole because I told you your ice cream was falling." Lucas grinned.

"We were five years old!" Peyton exclaimed.

And just like that, they were friends again.

**AN: Okay, my bad. I started working on this chapter shortly before I realized I was leaving the next day for Seattle. When I got back there was all kind of drama and I'm still extremely jet lagged. Sorry if this chapter is sucky. It's really just a filler because I had to finish the whole Leyton issue before I did a time jump. Thanks to everyone that reviewed! **


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